By Abdul Adil
(AA, Al Jazeera, Wafa, The Muslim News):
GAZA
At least 14 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza in the last 24 hours, bringing the overall death toll since October 2023 to 46,913, the Health Ministry said on Sunday.
A ministry statement added that some 110,750 others were injured in the Israeli onslaught since Oct. 7, 2023.
“Hospitals received the bodies of 14 people while 25 others were injured as a result of the Israeli aggression on Gaza in the last 24 hours,” the ministry said.
“Many people are still trapped under the rubble and on the roads as rescuers are unable to reach them,” it added.
The Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement took effect at 11.15 a.m. local time (0915GMT) on Sunday after a few hours’ delay due to Israeli accusations for Hamas of delaying the release of a list of captives set to be released. It was originally scheduled to start on 8.30 a.m. local time (0630GMT).
Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said six people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday.
Israeli strikes also killed nine people in Gaza City, three in northern Gaza and one in the southern city of Rafah, he added.
A medical source also said that seven people lost their lives when Israeli jets hit a car in central Khan Younis.
According to witnesses, Israeli drones opened fire on Palestinians returning to their areas after the start of the ceasefire.
Israeli artillery shelling was reported in Khan Younis and the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, but there were no reports of casualties.
Israeli army vehicles also opened fire east of the Shujaiya and Zeitoun neighborhoods in Gaza City, according to an Anadolu reporter.
The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate reported today that 193 journalists were killed by Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip during 2024.
Nasser Abu Bakr, the head of the Syndicate, made this statement at the annual Freedom Conference held on Sunday at the Syndicate’s headquarters in Ramallah. The event, titled A Wounded Voice and a Clearer Image, focused on the challenges faced by journalists working in Palestine.
Abu Bakr emphasized the resilience of Palestinian journalists, noting that despite the violence, including killings, bombings, and destruction, they remained committed to their work and continued to report the truth to the world. He confirmed that the Syndicate would submit its third complaint to the International Criminal Court regarding the attacks against Palestinian journalists.
Al-Laham noted a significant increase in incidents of live fire directed at journalists to intimidate them and prevent coverage. In 2024, 148 such incidents resulted in injuries, compared to 85 cases of injuries from toxic gas inhalation and tear gas canisters.
The report also highlighted ongoing restrictions on journalistic work, including the detention, threats, kidnapping, and disruption of press activities through the targeting of communication networks and the hacking of Palestinian content on social media.
WEST BANK
A Palestinian child was shot and killed on Sunday evening during the Israeli occupation forces’ raid on the town of Sebastia, northwest of Nablus.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that a 15-year-old child was shot in the chest with live bullets during the raid on the town. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was announced dead of his wounds by the Ministry of Health.
In turn, the mayor of Sebastia, Mohammed Azem, said that the Israeli occupation army fired live bullets, sound bombs and toxic teargas towards local residents and their homes during the confrontations, causing several suffocation cases among residents.
In addition a young man was shot with live bullets and others suffocated on Sunday evening during confrontations with the Israeli occupation forces in the town of Idhna, west of Hebron.
The head of the Red Crescent Society in the town of Idhna, Muammar Tamimi, said that a young man was shot with a live bullet in his hand and was taken to the hospital, while a number of people suffocated and were treated at the scene, during the confrontations that erupted after the occupation forces stormed the town of Idhna.
The occupation forces continue conducting daily raids on the town of Idhna while detaining civilians for hours, interrogating them in the field, and threatening them, in addition to the continued closure of the main entrance to the town for about six months.
Israeli occupation forces raided the neighborhood of al-Issawiya, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, this morning, where they stormed several homes belonging to Palestinian prisoners who are scheduled to be released this evening.
Israeli forces stormed the homes of several Palestinian prisoners who are slated for release under the ceasefire agreement in Gaza. Among the prisoners targeted were Zeina Barbar and Asil Eid, as well as Issam Abu Diab and Fahmi Frokh from the neighborhood of Silwan, south of Jerusalem. The raid also included the home of prisoner Firas al-Wawi.
During the raids, Israeli forces imposed restrictions on the families of the prisoners, prohibiting gatherings, the display of flags, and celebrations in anticipation of their release.
Illegal Israeli settlers, under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces, attacked Palestinian citizens’ vehicles and closed several main roads and intersections in the West Bank on Sunday evening.
Security sources reported to WAFA that dozens of settlers gathered on the main street near the town of Turmus Ayya, north of the Ramallah and al-Bireh governorate, attacked Palestinians’ vehicles and closed the road, forcing them to take alternative routes.
The same sources added that settlers gathered near Atara and Ein Siniya military checkpoints built on Palestinians’ lands north of Ramallah, and attacked their’ vehicles with stones, causing material damage to a number of them.
A group of settlers also attacked Palestinians’ vehicles with stones at the Ein Ayoub junction near the village of Kharbatha Bani Harith, west of Ramallah, causing material damage to a number of them.
In Jerusalem, armed settlers, under the protection of Israeli occupation forces, attacked Palestinians’ vehicles near the village of Jaba, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, on the road between the village of Jaba and the town of Hizma. No injuries or damage to the vehicles being reported.
In Qalqilya, settlers attacked Palestinian properties with stones, including shops and carts, located on the main road Qalqilya-Nablus, near the village of Jinsafut, east of the governorate. No injured were reported, however.
YEMEN
The Houthi [Ansar Allah] group in Yemen announced early Sunday that the US conducted four airstrikes on the Yemeni capital Sana’a.
The group’s media outlet Al-Masirah said: “Four US airstrikes targeted the Al-Azraqeen area, north of the Yemeni capital, Sana’a.”
No immediate details were provided regarding the aftermath of the airstrikes, and there was no immediate statement from the US on the Houthi report.
The Houthis in Yemen claimed Saturday that they targeted the USS Harry Truman in the Red Sea for the eighth time in one month.
“The US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and some accompanying warships in the northern Red Sea were targeted with a series of cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones),” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement.
He said it was the eighth attack since the carrier entered the Red Sea.
Saree also claimed that by hitting the targets the ship was forced to alter its operational area.
In addition, Saree warned that any attack on Yemen during a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian resistance groups, including Hamas, in the Gaza Strip, would be met with “qualified military operations” in response.
[Photo: A view of destruction in the southern Gaza area of Rafah, which endured heavy indiscriminate Israeli attacks, following the ceasefire agreement reached between Hamas and Israel on January 19, 2025. Photojournalist: Hassan Jedi/AA]
